Mad Max: Fury Road, Witness Me
by Leenden
Summary: -Spoilers- Max returns to the ravine where Nux's made is heroic sacrifice for the good of the group. When he finds Nux alive he's determined to help fulfill the young man's final wish.


Mad Max: Fury Road

Witness Me

By Jeremy McLaughlin

The open sky was bleached against the blinding heat from the sun. Only white sky and orange earth as far as the eye could see. Hot and dry, the air choked with black smoke and the smell of burning diesel. A shame really, the black crude was worth a fortune and now it simple burned into a toxic black cloud wafting from the crumbled ravine that stretched out before him, the black rider.

Max killed the engine of the gifted two wheeler, Furiosa had given him back at the Citadel. "A bike and all you can carry." Those were her words and as the leader of the Citadel, they were law. The hog was nothing more than a manufactured nightmare for those that stood in it's wake. Black and silver, pieced together from cars and other two wheelers. It would have been fast, too fast to catch, if it hadn't been weighed down by the bounty of provisions afforded to him.

The muffled sound of a snap at his neck and he pulled the helmet free. The sounds of the world opened up to him, his ears keen to the dead air all around him. He listened for the sound of approaching engines from the Mountain Tribe's two wheelers. If there were so much as an echo of a rumble, Max would be gone in seconds. All was clear, but for how long remained to be seen. He swung his leg over the bike, crunching the scorched earth under his boot heel. The sounded deafening against the stillness in the air.

"Why are you here, Max?" Max froze dropping his hand to the security of the weapon at his hip. When he looked back over his shoulder, there was nothing except the shivering air coming up from the earth. A low grunt found it's way to his parched throat. He relaxed the tension from the muscles in his shoulders.

"Why are you here, Max?" The voice echoed again in the back of his mind. It was soft and small like a whispering from a ghost that sat on his shoulder. A cold shiver moved through, even under the heavy leather jacket he wore.

Without even realizing it, Max spoke. "To pay my respects." His voice was not unlike gravel rolling down a metal chute.

Max waited for the voice to begin again, but it stayed silent, granting him a moment to take in his surroundings. His eye, squinted against the aggressive sunlight, followed the smoke trails. They billowed out from further down the ravine. The past two days Max had become very familiar with the ravine and now here he stood again. This time was going to be different though, the feeling in his stomach told him so. There was once an arch over the ravine, but after their last passing it had crumbled in on itself blocking all access. Most of the smoke seemed to originate from the twisted remains of the War Machine, Max had become intimate with over the past few days. It lay nestled in the heart of the ravine under a pile of crumbling rocks.

"Why are you here, Max," It was girl's voice, louder this time, echoing from just behind his ear. Max didn't react this time. Instead his hard gaze searched the crushed cab of the War Machine. There was nothing to see, anything inside had been obliterated. The ravine was nothing more than a graveyard now for Immortan Joe's men and-

Before Max could finish his thought, he heard a weak coughing coming from the rocky patch at the base of the cliff. His double-barrel was free from it's patchwork home and ready to go on a walk about.

Max moved with concise steps towards the sound and in the direction of his two wheeler, putting himself between the two points. Staying at running distance of the two wheeler. With a push of the starter button, and an easy kill-switch sequence, he could be gone. There was no shame in running from a fight, not in this world. Still his curiosity wouldn't be sated if he left the noise unchecked. The coughing grew weaker and then stopped as he reached the patch of rocks.

Max's leathery features softened when he saw the familiar pale complexion of a broken boy, covered in blood and soot. Razor thin cuts covered his bald head and face. Broken bones tore through his flesh and clothing, like broken glass in a plastic trash bag. No doubt his insides were more like ground meat then organs now. Max dropped the heavy weight of his double barrel back into it's home as he looked back at the War Machine and then to the boy again. The force of the crash had thrown him a great distance from the vehicle. It was inconceivable that he would have survived. He...what was his name? Max couldn't remember, until he heard the young man speak.

"Bloodbag..." The boy hadn't spoken so much as groaned.

"Nux." Max knelt down beside him.

"It's good to...see you, Bloodbag." The undertone in the boy's voice was familiar to him, death was not far off. The fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle, if Max believed in such a thing.

A smile found it's way to Max's lips, in spite of the grizzly scene. "Max, you can call me Max."

A whimsical look came to Nux's face, making him appear younger than he was. His bright blue eyes blinking out of rhythm against the searing light of the sun. "Max, of course..." It sounded as if he were reasoning the fact that Max's real name wasn't Bloodbag.

"Why are...you here, Max?" Nux groaned, his voice as ghostly as the one that had been asking him that same question.

"To pay my respects...to a great warrior." Max raised his hand to shield Nux's eyes from the sun. "If not for you, all of those girls would be dead."

"I d...did it for all...of you." The shuddering of his words told Max that it wouldn't be long now.

In truth Max hadn't really expected to find his friend's body, no less find him alive. There was no plan in place for what he should do now. Nux didn't seem to be in too much pain where he laid, moving him would be unnecessary, not to mention excruciatingly painful.

Nux coughed again, a dry weak choke that caught in his chest. Max pulled his canteen from his belt, unscrewing the lid. "Here, lets get you a drink." Max lifted the boy's face, tipping back the canteen slightly to dribble the water into the boy's parched lips. Most of it cascaded down his chin, neck, and chest to his lap. But a few drops managed to pool in his mouth. A heavy swallowed caused Nux to cough.

"Thank you, M-" The words hitched in his throat and came out as a cracking cough, a wound at his side started seeping blood. Nux's breath became shallow with a wheeze. One of his lungs had been pierced and somehow healed around the bone that wounded it. All the coughing must have opened it again. Now his breathing harbored a quiver on the exhale. Time was drawing near now.

"Max, can you...take me home?" He managed to work out in one quivering exhale. "I want to see Capable aga-" A struggling swallow followed the failed words.

"I..." Max hung his head. "I can try, but you might not make it." Max felt the broken boys hand on his.

"Please try..." The gesture was almost too much energy spent, Nux's hand slipped down into his lap.

Max capped his canteen, clipping it to his belt again. Then with one mighty lift, he cradled the boy's small frame. Nux's pain had been far too much to bear. He filled the once quiet desert with quivering and desperate wails. They died down the longer Max carried him, but each step he took brought another soft yelp from the boy's lips. Finally Max rested a top his two wheeler, Nux still cradled in his arms. The cries had died down to the soft the whines of a lonely puppy.

Somewhere far off, a sharp reflection struck his eyes. It was coming from up top one of the cliff ledges. Max glanced up to see two warriors straddling their motorcycles, fear clutched his chest. He could easily deal with them if he were alone, but now that he carried the wounded boy, there was no way. Both the men's faces were wrapped in a concealing cloth so Max couldn't make out any distinct features. They made no attempt to move at first, then they looked at each other. They added a hard pound to their chests, a puff of dirt wafted from their clothes. Then they sent their fists towards the sky.

"Free passage, to those that honor the dead," The ghostly voice whispered from over his shoulder. The words prickled the hair at the back of his neck. Max didn't spare another moment, the engine of his two wheeler roared to life and he sped away, back the way he'd come.

When Max pulled into the Citadel, the shade of the valley welcomed him. The festivities had died down as the inhabitants moved around the valley floor. Most of the populace were laying around the campsites with their stomachs distended from the amount of water they'd consumed. Several of Nux's brethren moved from family to family, handing out vital provisions to better their lives.

The rumble of Max's two wheeler brought Furiosa to railing of the catwalks above. A modified rifle clutched in her hands, ready to remove any that threatened her kingdom. She and Max had only shared a glance, before she turned and hurried away. They were soon followed by the rumbling sounds of the lift from above.

Max killed the engine to his two wheeler and carefully lifting Nux off the bike. This time Nux didn't move or make a sound. Max was sure that the boy faded away in the trek back to the Citadel. His breathing was so shallow that Max had to hold a finger under the boy's nose, just to make sure he was still breathing. "Not long now." The voice teased, Max's felt his jaw tighten.

"Max." It had been the first time he'd heard his name from Furiosa's lips, the surprised happiness faded almost immediately. "Is that Nux?"

Now that the lift was closer, Max could see that Furiosa's face was dressed in thick bandages. The white contrasted the darker shade of the sun damaged skin on her face. Her injuries forced her to move slowly as she limped to the edge of the life. At least she didn't look as bad as she had, when he brought her there. Furiosa craned her neck over his shoulder to look at the Nux's pale face. The dark circles around his eyes, in conjunction to the teeth scars along his lips, only solidified his transformation to a skeleton.

"There's no time." Max explained, carrying Nux over to the lift that was just settling to the ground. "He wants to be with Capable before he dies."

The corners of Furiosa's mouth plunged sharply. "Right!" She roar up at the catwalks above. "Toast...bring Capable quick."

An old woman shuffled up through the lethargic masses, laying a threadbare blanket on the ground. Another woman rushed up with a blanket bunched into a makeshift pillow, setting it down on the outstretched blanket. Max nodded his appreciation, before he carefully lay Nux down on the makeshift bed. A sharp inhale caught in the youth's throat before his body flattened out fully. He made no attempt to move on his own as the blanket started soaking up his blood.

Max parted the young man's lips once again, doing his best to pour a little water past the boy's cracked lips. The cool liquid caused Nux a painful cough, forcing the water to bubble down the side of his face. What once ran clear, now held a pink tint to it. Furiosa sighed and shook her head, resting her hand against his collapsed stomach.

"Not long now." Max's voice only grew more gravelly the quieter he spoke. He felt the weight of Furiosa's prosthetic arm on his shoulder. It was heavy and firm, but there was security in it's metal. A calm that lived inside it, something that sang to the storm that raged inside of him. Metal was the only safe haven for him now.

"It's time to go, Max," The voice whispered against the back of his ear, so real that he could almost feel the cool breath. When he turned to see if someone was there, Capable was on her way.

When she saw Nux, a cry pushed from her lips loud enough to startle the boy into a painful groan. Furiosa took her hand and hushed her with a metal finger across her lips. "Easy, he's not long for this world." Even as the words fell from Furiosa's strong lips, there was an edge of weakness to them. The one that always accompanied the loss of a close friend or a family member.

Capable fell to her knees next to Nux, the mop of red curls tumbled down around her face, shutting the world out from the emotions she was feeling. Her smooth white hands caressed along his cheeks. As if she had some magic powers of healing, Nux opened his blue eyes and looked at her. A weak smile played across his lips, spreading the teeth like scars into and even more unnatural state.

"I..came back...for you." The voice was choked in his throat, each syllable caused Capable's narrow shoulders to hitch as she fought to contain the tears. "I wanted...you to see...me off to Val-" The exhale extinguished the word before he could finish, but Capable didn't mind one bit. She whispered 'Valhalla' for him. A shuddering nod quaked his entire body. His eyes no longer seeing her, but seeing past her into the after.

"I will my love." Capable's tears showed in her voice, despite hiding her face with her hair.

Nux's closed his eyes and took a shallow inhale. "Witness...me. All of...you."

"Always." She gave into the tears as she rested her head on the makeshift pillow next to his.

"Farewell, warrior." Furiosa said through tight lips, refusing to show her feelings anymore than she already had.

Max closed his hand around the young boy's thigh and gave a soft squeeze. "Goodbye, my friend."

Nux's chest fought to rise one final time, then sunk down not daring to rise again. Capable's wails filled the valley. It caused a long forgotten pain to ripple through Max's chest. Furiosa leaned against Capable, running her fingers through the thick ribbons of her hair. Max closed his eyes and hung his head. When he snatched a quick breath through his nose, he smelt some acrid that burned the inner membranes.

"Max," The voice louder than it had ever been before.

Max opened his eyes with a start. He scanned the horizon and there he knelt in the dirt next to the crumbled ravine. The war machine was still a twisted wreck, the sky was poisonous with the thick smell of diesel. A soft dripping sound echoed deep into the recesses of Max's head. Water from his canteen was falling into a puddle formed around a young boy's bald head. It was Nux, lying against the wall of the cliff, dead. He'd been dead for hours, his body withering in the hot sun.

Max shook his head so hard that his neck popped. Then he looked around again, everything was as it had been when he arrived. He looked back down to Nux and touched the side of the boy' s head. The only heat that radiated from it, was the residual heat from the sun. A dream, it was all a dream.

"I'm sorry my friend." A wave of guilt twisted in his gut. Going home, must have been the boy's last thoughts. If only he'd know, if only he'd hurried. There may have been a chance to give him what he wanted in the end. Another ghost that followed him, another ghost to run from.

"It's time to go, Max," The voice called from behind his ear. This time it sounded different that the one that came before. Not the chilly voice that he'd lived with for so long, but another one. When he turned around, he saw a pair of figures shimmering among the waves of heat pouring off the baking earth. A tall lanky boy stood hand in hand with the dark haired little girl. They were both smiling at him. A welcoming smile as if he'd just gotten home from a long day of work.

Max rose from his spot on the ground capping his canteen before returning it to his back. His feet were as heavy as the heart in his chest, his boots were as worn as his soul, but he found the strength to mount his two-wheeler. There was safety it's metal shell, a hymn in the engine's roar. It rumbled through him, jump starting his spirit. "Where too?" His voice was as indifferent as the blank slate of his face, before he pulled his helmet on.

"This way, Max." The pair beckoned towards a tall smoke stack way off in the distance, then they faded into nothing.

Max allowed himself a smirk. "Witness me..." He whispered before he twisted the throttle, his tires caught traction and that bike sped away, leaving a cloud of dust in his passing.


End file.
